Thoughts about a fix for headphone HISS

[KillerG]

I wonder if you turn down the volume on the phone and turn up the volume on your speakers if that would compensate a little?

 

[pushdrops]

I have no such issue. Might this problem be a result of a bad production run?

Hardware issue?

I thought at first I didn't have it, expected to hear a noise as soon as plugging in phones, then when playing a tune. Wasn't until listened to a tune with a quiet passage that I noticed it.

Two units at the local vzw store had the issue to and the workers didn't believe me at first until I had them try a set of iPhone headphones.

 

[gene1138]

Strange how i get no hissing sound through headphones while on YOUTUBE and no crackling through the phone speakers but on NETFLIX I do. If this was a hardware issue I would think it should happen no matter what you were listning too.

I can hear the hiss with youtube. I hear it most right after the vid has ended then I hear basically the audio click off then dead silence. My guess and hope is they have some values on the DSP turned up too high when outputting to the headphone jack since some are saying they don't hear the hiss through bluetooth headphones. This should be fixable through a software update I hope.

How this got through QA I don't know. Or they decided it's not a showstopper for a phone and would address it later.

 

[pushdrops]

As it isn't there thru the built-in speaker or bluetooth, hopefully it's a dsp software thing and not some sort of interference issue with the physical jack.

I fear it is a physical issue as I have had this some laptops and desktop soundards and they were OK using the digital audio outputs, research back then pointed to poor design of the line output.

 

[jkatabelo]

I am having the same issues others are mentioning. Really started noticing in today with the whining sound. Have noticed the sound interference with external speakers off and on since I got the phone. There are now at least 2 threads regarding this subject. Not sure what to do. I really like the phone and in general do not want to return it, especially since there is no other phone I would rather have at this point.

 

[mbentley3]

I enjoy listening to Pandora on my phone when im out walking the dogs or doing yard work. Havent tried my Bionic yet....kind of scared to now lol.

I really hope its a software issue.....

 

[APeX3181]

I believe this to be a hardware issue. I only hear interference when using the headphone jack on top of the phone. I just got the Bionic's standard dock, and when using the headphone jack on the back of the dock, I hear music crystal clear without any interference. If I get different results when listening to the same music via the same app...clearly hardware issue.

 

[Chadwick17]

I've mentioned this in other forums, but I also hear it through the phone's external speaker. It's faint, but you can hear it.

Not to mention the audio quality of the phone (at least my unit) is awful in general. I get what seems like a lot of fuzz/white noise along with the hiss. The audio just isn't as crisp as it could be. It sounds like music off of a radio.

 

[RoyEP3]

I believe this to be a hardware issue. I only hear interference when using the headphone jack on top of the phone. I just got the Bionic's standard dock, and when using the headphone jack on the back of the dock, I hear music crystal clear without any interference. If I get different results when listening to the same music via the same app...clearly hardware issue.

I can confirm that headphones direct to phone has hiss and headphones to dock have no hiss. Although the headphones to dock volume sounds lower than direct to phone.

 

[geeksbsmrt]

The "hiss" and "whine" you are hearing is known as a Ground Loop. A lot of car stereo installations that are done improperly have this as well. There are devices you can purchase for the car issue called a Ground Loop Isolator (GLI). Like most people have said here you can purchase an inline audio control unit or amplifier that will eliminate the noise as their function is very similar to a GLI. It is a hardware issue and there is nothing a software update can do to fix it.

 

[svzuki]

After playing Pandora then pausing during a sound I hear a whine for 1-2 seconds, then it goes away. That is not all that bad at all. I haven't tried Netflix yet..

 

[tazcordo]

I had the same problem when using the cheap iphone earphones. However, I plugged in a good pair of Sony headphones and had no hissing whatsoever. The sound was very clear.

 

[pushdrops]

The sound present on my bionic has nothing to do with the quality of the headphones from $3 phones to my studio reference monitor cans the interference is present, also when u pause an MP3 or YouTube and heat the noise and a click when it stops a second following a pause or stop, u may not notice the sound during content unless there's a quieter passage as the sound is not only there when u pause but that or lower passages are the only times the interference is very noticeable, it's always there

 

[jlukes]

It has happened randomly to me when streaming sirius radio through my car's bluetooth. I shut the app, and then re-opened it and the hissing and cracking went away.

It is absolutely a software issue

 

[geeksbsmrt]

It is absolutely a software issue

I'm not quite so convinced. It sounds EXACTLY like a ground loop. It goes away seconds after media stops playing because the phone shuts off the power to the headphone jack to conserve energy. I will be testing with a line conditioner to verify later today. I am almost certain that it is a hardware issue.

 

[mngdew]

Strange how i get no hissing sound through headphones while on YOUTUBE and no crackling through the phone speakers but on NETFLIX I do. If this was a hardware issue I would think it should happen no matter what you were listning too.

I think there's a problem with Neflix these days. When I play Netflix directly on my TV, there is a lot of sound distortion, but if it goes through a receiver there isn't.

 

[geeksbsmrt]

I think there's a problem with Neflix these days. When I play Netflix directly on my TV, there is a lot of sound distortion, but if it goes through a receiver there isn't.

There is an issue with the latest Netflix app. It causes more of a popping than a hiss. It happens on my Bionic and on one of my coworkers OG Droids. I have not had any other people test on their phones but it was not present on my coworkers OG until this most recent update.

 

[Chadwick17]

Can no one else confirm that they hear it out of the phone speaker as well? It's hard to hear since it isn't directly in your ear like headphones but it's definitely there. You can tell because you hear that 'pop' or 'click' when the hissing turns off.

 

[jlukes]

I'm not quite so convinced. It sounds EXACTLY like a ground loop. It goes away seconds after media stops playing because the phone shuts off the power to the headphone jack to conserve energy. I will be testing with a line conditioner to verify later today. I am almost certain that it is a hardware issue.

I have never used the headphone jack... it was through bluetooth

 

[geeksbsmrt]

Can no one else confirm that they hear it out of the phone speaker as well? It's hard to hear since it isn't directly in your ear like headphones but it's definitely there. You can tell because you hear that 'pop' or 'click' when the hissing turns off.

I just tested this and there is a pop/click approx 2 seconds after the audio stops playing. This is normal as it is the audio processor stopping sending data to the speaker. It is normal to hear some "white noise" while using headphones as well. However, what I am experiencing is a high-pitched whine noise. Maybe it could be described as a squeal.